Frank Zappa & Captain Beefheart -From Straight To Bizarre [DVD] [2012]

What we have here is a near three hour documentary of the rise and fall of Zappa's record labels Bizarre & Straight Records, both which came into prominence in 1968 after Zappa got out of his personal contract with Verve Records.

The film takes you through the history of the artists that appeared on the roster of these two labels, including Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band, the GTO's, Wild Man Fischer, The Persuasions, Lenny Bruce, Tim Buckley, Jeff Simmons, and more. Included are recent interviews with many of the artists & musicians who appeared on these releases, as well as Zappa historian Barry Miles. Legendary GTO member Pamela Des Barres is here as well, talking about her time with the band and around Zappa as producer. Much time is spent discussing the classic Beefheart album Trout Mask Replica, and there's even some old footage of the band spliced in for good measure. Thankfully you get a lot of that throughout this documentary, including some vintage footage of Zappa and The Mothers from the late 60's as well as some great clips of the early Alice Cooper band, which helps the movie flow. With members of the GTO's, the Magic Band, and Alice Cooper all here, this makes for really interesting viewing.

In the end, despite putting out what later was seen as some groundbreaking stuff, the labels couldn't support the lack of sales for such uncommercial music. Out of all the acts on Zappa's labels, only Alice Cooper really went on to international stardom (though after they signed elsewhere), which is a shame, but it makes for fascinating discussion in the present day. From Straight to Bizarre - Zappa, Beefheart, Alice Cooper, and LA's Lunatic Fringe takes you on a fascinating journey behind the scenes of a small record label in the late 60's/early 70's.

Desperate to remove himself from his original deal with Verve Records, in 1968 Frank Zappa set up the Bizarre and Straight labels in league with manger Herb Cohen, and so began a string of releases which remain extraordinary in the extreme. This film revisits and reviews the astonishing music that came out on Bizarre and Straight, and reveals the background, operations and, crucially, the lives of the musicians, performers and management who made these labels the legendary reality they became. Includes rare footage, archive interviews and of course the music that made it all worthwhile.

We get a fairly unfiltered view of the time period with many of the people interviewed for the documentary are people who were there. Fans of the time period will enjoy an inside look at the musical groups that Frank Zappa had a direct influence on and their place in the popular musical lexicon like Captain Beefheart, Wild Man Fischer, GTO's to the likes of The Persuasions and Tim Buckley as well as unedited comedy records from controversial comic Lenny Bruce. This epic 2 hour and 40 minute takes us in-depth into each act that he signed as well each of their albums, looking at on an almost track by track basis. Unquestionably a look into the deep grooves of the Frank Zappa legacy and the musical acts that he helped to bring to the forefront and while historically interesting, your knowledge of Frank Zappa and the artists at the time has to be pretty deep in order for the viewer to be able to getting anything out of this.

As an advance class on the time period "From Straight To Bizarre" is a fantastic look back at the influence that an artist like Frank Zappa had on popular music, not only from the standpoint of his own music, but from the different types of music that he tried to share with the world on this own record labels. It won't work for those with no knowledge of the time period, but for those who know a little bit, this film is a great next step towards expanding your knowledge.

A fabulously insightful and entertaining documentary about one of the most incredible labels and time periods in music history. Because albums released on Frank Zappa's Bizarre and Straight labels are so near and dear to our ugly little hearts, I approached this one with some serious reservations. Was this going to be another annoying documentary with pretentious jerks bragging about the old days? Or would it have something worthwhile to offer? Fortunately the latter is true...and boy oh boy does this one offer A LOT. This lengthy documentary (lasting 161 minutes) sheds an incredible amount of light on two of the greatest record labels of all time as well as the inner workings of the creation of the music and the minds of the musicians themselves. If you never delved into artists like Captain Beefheart, early Alice Cooper (before success hit), The G.T.O.'s, Wild Man Fischer, and Zappa himself...after viewing this you'll probably want to get your hands on everything that was released on these labels. There were other artists on the roster but these were by far the most interesting. For a few years Frank was pretty much the king of the freaks in California...and he used his influence and power to expose the world to some truly absorbing characters who were making some of the most far out music ever. What impresses me most about this documentary is the selection of the people interviewed. The folks adding their opinions and thoughts (which includes Pamela Des Barres, John French, Jerry Lawson, Jeff Simmons, Essra Mohwark, Miss Mercy, Kim Fowley, Bill Harkleroad, Ben Watson, Barry Miles, Mark Paytress, Billy James, and Ritchie Unterberger) do so without coming across like annoying know-it-alls or condescending rock critics. It's almost like everyone involved in the project was involved because they truly recognize and appreciate the impact that this segment of music history has had on so many people. You get a wealth of different perspectives here from historians and critics...folks involved in the music business...and some of the musicians themselves. We particularly like the fact that Dennis Dunaway and Neil Smith (of the original Alice Cooper band) are featured prominently discussing the early days before the band became famous. The documentary ends with a fact that is perhaps the most staggering one of all. When you consider the fact that some of the early releases on the Bizarre and Straight labels feature some of the most important recordings in history...it seems bewildering and tragic that some of the music still remains unavailable (except for the original vinyl releases which were only pressed in limited quantities). We can only hope that From Straight To Bizarre makes more folks aware of these lost treasures...which will hopefully eventually force reissues of all of this material to the public. Some of the greatest albums of all time were on Frank's labels...Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica and Lick My Decals Off, Baby...Alice Cooper's Pretties For You, Easy Action, and the first pressing of Love It To Death (which was later re-released by Warner Bros.), An Evening With Wild Man Fischer, The G.T.O.'s Permanent Damage, Jeff Simmons' Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up...sheesh, these are some of the best albums ever recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s. A truly riveting and mind-blowing view!